JPS6214456B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a collator for collating or sorting paper produced by, for example, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, or the like, that is, copy paper or printed paper.

Collators of the above type, also referred to as sorters, have been well known in the past, and this type of collator transports sheets by means of a transport means, selectively feeds the thus transported sheets into storage bins, and thereby collates the sheets. Or they can be sorted. In addition, when an emergency situation occurs in the collator, for example, when the conveyed paper jams, or when more paper is being conveyed than the paper storage processing capacity of the collator, the paper being conveyed by the conveying means can be temporarily stopped. It is also widely known to store paper in an auxiliary storage bin, thereby preventing or minimizing paper transport troubles.
In this case, the paper stored in the auxiliary storage bin also needs to be stored in a predetermined storage bin after adjusting the collator. However, in conventional collators of this type, the paper once stored in the auxiliary storage bin is
If there is no suitable means for transporting the paper to the designated storage bin, the paper in the secondary storage bin must be manually placed directly into the storage bin, or the paper in the secondary storage bin may be manually loaded onto a transport means to move this paper to the designated storage bin. I had to make sure to send it to the storage bin. Such work is not only troublesome, but also because it is not easy to correctly place the paper on the conveyance means, the paper that is incorrectly placed often gets jammed in the conveyance path and causes conveyance trouble again.

On the other hand, in the past, the feeding means for feeding paper into the auxiliary storage bin simply fed the paper being transported into the auxiliary storage bin, which limited the uses of the auxiliary storage bin, and at best caused the collator to be in an emergency situation as described above. The situation was such that an auxiliary storage bin could be used in the event of an outbreak.

An object of the present invention is to provide a collator that can easily feed paper stored in an auxiliary storage bin to a predetermined storage bin.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a collator that allows the use of auxiliary storage bins to be expanded over conventional ones.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a collator 2 according to the present invention is arranged adjacent to a copying machine 1, and paper (copy paper in this example) 3 produced by the copying machine 1 is delivered to a pair of discharge rollers 4 of the copying machine. Then, it is ejected from the copying machine 1,
It is sent to collator 2.

The collator 2 includes a plurality of storage bins 5 arranged vertically at predetermined intervals, a transport means 6 for transporting sheets toward these storage bins 5, and a transport means 6.
and deflecting means 7 for selectively guiding sheets fed by the storage bins 5 to one of the storage bins 5.

As is known per se, the conveying means 6 in this example includes a pair of receiving rollers 8 for receiving paper from the copying machine 1, a feeding belt 11 arranged approximately horizontally and wound around two rollers 9 and 10, and a roller. 10, a conveyor belt 13 that conveys the paper downward, and a vacuum tank 14 disposed between both running sides of the conveyor belt 13. is maintained in a negative pressure state by a fan 15. 16 and 17 are a driving roller and a turning roller around which the conveyor belt 13 is wound.

As is well known, the deflection means 7 is also supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction along the conveyor belt 13, and includes a pair of paper discharge rollers 18 and a guide plate 19.

During normal sorting or collating work, sheets 3 carried into the collator 2 from the copying machine 1 are conveyed almost horizontally by a pair of receiving rollers 8, a feed belt 11, and an intermediate roller 12, which are driven in the directions of the arrows. Then, it is fed downward by the conveyor belt 13 driven in the direction of arrow A. (See arrow B). When the paper is sent downward, the paper is suctioned and held by the conveyor belt 13 by the suction action of the vacuum tank 14, so that the paper is reliably conveyed without coming off the conveyor belt 13. . When the paper is fed, the deflection means 7 is placed opposite to one storage bin in which the paper is to be stored, and therefore the paper 3 is moved to a predetermined storage position by the guide plate 19 of the deflection means 7 and the ejection roller pair 18. It is fed into a bin (in the example of FIG. 1, the uppermost storage bin). By repeating the above operations, the sheets are sequentially stored in each storage bin, and a predetermined collation or sorting operation is performed.

In the collator configured as described above, it is generally unavoidable that the paper being transported gets jammed in the transport path for some reason, causing trouble in the transport of the paper. Such paper jams are particularly likely to occur on the conveyor belt 13 and the deflection means 7. When such a paper jam occurs, if the jam is ignored and the paper sent from the copying machine is sent directly to the storage bin, paper conveyance troubles will further increase. On the other hand, if you immediately stop the copying machine when a jam occurs, not only will the efficiency of copying work decrease, but the paper in the conveyance path inside the copying machine will be wasted. There is also the possibility that it may cause other problems. For this reason, the collator shown in FIG. 1 is constructed so that even when a jam occurs, there is no need to interrupt the operation of the copying machine, and there is no need to feed the paper toward the storage bin. For this purpose, in the configuration shown in FIG.
The auxiliary storage bin 20 is provided with a first paper feeding means 21 and a second paper feeding means 22, which will be explained in detail later. It is designed to be fed into a bin 20.

The first paper feeding means 21 in this example includes a receiving roller pair 8 and a feeding belt 11, as is well known.
a first switching guide plate 23 disposed between the first switching guide plate 23 , a first feed roller pair 24 provided at one end region of the auxiliary storage bin 20 , and a first switching guide plate 23 disposed between the first switching guide plate 2
3 and a first guide plate 25 disposed between the first pair of feed rollers 24. The first switching guide plate 23 is rotatable about its pivot 26 between a non-operating position shown by a solid line in FIG. 1 and an operating position shown by a chain line.

During normal operation of the collator as previously described, the first switching guide plate 23 occupies the inoperative position shown in solid lines, whereby the paper 3 is moved along the feed belt 11.
will be sent to without any trouble.

If a paper jam occurs on the conveyor belt 11 or the deflection means 7, etc., a detection device (not shown) detects this and generates a jam signal. In response to this jam signal, the conveyor belt 13 is stopped, the rotation of the feed belt 11 and the intermediate roller 12 is stopped, and the feeding operation of the paper existing in these conveyance paths is stopped. Paper is thus prevented from being fed towards the storage bin 5. At the same time, the first switching guide plate 23 is rotated to the operating position shown by the chain line. However, the copying operation of the copying machine 1 is not interrupted and the paper continues to be fed into the collator 2, but since the rotation of the pair of receiving rollers 8 is not stopped even if the above-mentioned jam signal occurs, the collator 2 The paper sent to the receiving roller pair 8 receives the feeding action, and
It is guided to the first guide plate 25 by the first switching guide plate 23 which has been rotated to the operating position, and subsequently fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20 by the first feed roller pair 24 driven in the direction of the arrow. In this way, the sheets that are continuously fed into the collator 2 are sequentially fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20. In this way, it is possible to prevent paper from being fed into the storage bin 5 without stopping the operation of the copying machine.

Note that if a jam signal is generated when the paper is on the first switching guide plate 23, and this causes the first switching guide plate 23 to be immediately switched, the feed belt 11 to be stopped, etc. The paper may cause a paper jam. Therefore, in order to eliminate this drawback, when a jam signal is generated when paper is present on the first switching guide plate 23, an operation such as switching of the first switching guide plate 23 is not performed by this signal alone. , when a detection device (also not shown) detects that the trailing edge of the paper has passed over the first guide plate 23, and the detection signal generated at this time and the jam signal are generated at the same time. It is advantageous to perform operations such as switching the first switching guide plate 23 and stopping the feed belt 11.

On the other hand, the auxiliary storage bin 20 is provided with paper feeding means for feeding paper from the bin. The paper feeding means in this example includes a feeding roller 27 disposed in a notch 27' formed in the bottom plate 20a of the auxiliary storage bin 20, and a feeding roller 27 supported at the lower part of the right end area of the auxiliary storage bin 20. It consists of a pair of feed rollers 28 and a paper conveyance guide plate 29 disposed between the conveyance belt 13. A slit 30 is formed in the lower part of the side wall of the auxiliary storage bin 20 facing the pair of feeding rollers 28.

When a jam occurs, the paper is continuously fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20 as described above, during which time the operator can take measures against the jam. When the operator presses an operation button (not shown) when this anti-jam measure is completed, the conveyor belt 13 resumes operation and the feed roller 27 starts rotating clockwise as shown by the arrow. The lower roller 28' of the feed roller pair 28 begins to rotate. As a result, the sheets stored in the auxiliary storage bin 20 are sent out one by one from the auxiliary storage bin 20 through the slit 30, starting from the lowest sheet. The paper thus sent out is conveyed to the conveyor belt 13 while being guided by the paper conveyance guide plate 29, and then this sheet is fed by the conveyor belt 13 and moves in the same manner as described above. It is fed into a predetermined storage bin 5. In this way, the sheets in the auxiliary storage bin 20 are successively stored in each predetermined storage bin. still,
Upper roller 28″ in the feeding roller pair 28
is not rotated even if the lower roller 28' starts rotating, or is rotated in the opposite direction to the paper feeding direction. As a result, even when two or more sheets of paper are sent out from the auxiliary storage bin 20 at the same time, the upper and lower rollers 28', 28'' can send out only one sheet of paper to be fed toward the conveyor belt 13. Of course, it is also possible to prevent the above-mentioned two-sheet feeding by arranging a pressing member pressed against the lower roller 28' instead of the upper roller 28''.

Note that even if the actuation button is pressed when the anti-jam measure is completed, the first switching guide plate 23 will not be rotated from its actuation position, and the paper fed into the collator will continue to be fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20. There is no problem that the paper stored in the auxiliary storage bin 20 before the feed roller 27 starts rotating and the paper fed into the collator 2 after that are mixed up. Furthermore, if the number of paper sheets stored in the collator is greater than the copy speed of the copying machine, that is, the number of paper sheets produced per unit time, the paper in the auxiliary storage bin 20 may run out over time.
In such a case, when the paper in the auxiliary storage bin 20 runs out, a detection means (not shown) detects this, and thereby the first switching guide plate 23
is rotated to the non-operating position, and the paper subsequently fed into the collator is conveyed by the feed belt 11 and the intermediate roller 12.
The above-mentioned auxiliary storage bin can be used not only when a paper jam occurs, but also when a copying machine sends more paper than the paper storage processing capacity of the collator, in the same way as when a jam occurs.

FIG.
FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram illustrating the conveyance state of the paper when the paper is once stored in the auxiliary storage bin 20 and then fed into each storage bin 5. FIG. Figure 2 a
As can be seen, when the paper 3 is carried into the collator with the image surface 3a facing upward, the paper is once reversed and stored in each storage bin 5 with the image surface facing downward. On the other hand, as can be seen from b in Fig. 2, the paper 3 carried into the collator in the same condition is
Even if it is once stored in the auxiliary storage bin 20, when it is finally stored in the storage bin 5, the image surface 3a is still facing downward. This is because when the paper is fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20, the paper is sent directly to the auxiliary storage bin 20 without being turned over by the first paper feeding means 21. Thus, in either operation, the paper can be stored in the storage bin in the same state.

As mentioned above, normally, the paper carried into the collator is stored in the storage bin with the top surface facing downward, and in this sense, the above-described configuration can be said to be advantageous. However, when the above-mentioned copying machine 1 is a double-sided copying machine that forms images on both sides of paper, the paper that has been double-sided processed by this copying machine 1 and sent to the collator 2 is transferred to a second copying machine for the purpose of aligning the page order. There is a case where it is desired to feed the paper into each storage bin 5 in a further inverted state from the paper stored state in the storage bin 5 shown in Figures a and b (i.e., in this case, the front and back state of the paper is the same as when it was carried into the collator. (The paper is stored in the storage bin 5 with both sides facing up.)

The collator 2 shown in FIG. 1 can advantageously utilize the auxiliary storage bin 20 as described above for the purpose of dealing with the occurrence of jams, etc., and the collator 2 can hold the paper in the same front and back state as the paper was brought into the collator. The structure is such that the auxiliary storage bin 20 can also be used to store the items in the storage bin 5. For this latter purpose, the second paper feeding means 22 previously described is used. The second paper feeding means 22 in this example is a turning roller 1 for the conveyor belt 13.
7 and the feed belt 11, a second feed roller pair 32 provided in the upper right end area of the auxiliary storage bin 20, and a second guide plate 32 placed between them. This second switching guide plate 31 can also be selectively switched between a non-operating position indicated by a solid line and an operating position indicated by a chain line. During the operation described above, the second switching guide plate 31 occupies the non-operating position shown by the solid line.
1 does not interfere with the operations described above.

When it is desired to reverse the paper that has been copied on both sides by the copying machine 1 again and store it in the storage bin 5 as described above, the second switching guide plate 31 is rotated to its operating position. By doing this, the feed belt 11
The paper sent by the second switching guide plate 31
, the second guide plate 33, and the second guide plate 33 rotating in the direction of the arrow.
The auxiliary storage bin 2 is moved by the feed roller pair 32.
sent to 0. In this case, the auxiliary storage bin 20
The paper stored in the collator 2 has been reversed by 180 degrees from the state in which it was fed into the collator 2. Next, the sheets stacked in the auxiliary storage bin 20 are sent out to the conveyor belt 13 by a feed roller 27, a pair of feed rollers 28, and a sheet conveyance guide plate 29, and are thereby transferred to a predetermined storage bin 5. sent. By inverting the sheets once and then storing them in the auxiliary storage bin 20 in this manner, it becomes possible to arrange the sheets in the correct order, for example. That is, in this case, as is clear from c in FIG. 2, the paper is turned over once before entering the auxiliary storage bin 20, and after leaving the auxiliary storage bin 20, it is turned over again and fed into the storage bin 5. , the side 3a of the paper that was facing upward when it was delivered to the collator is
When the paper is stored in the storage bin 5, it also faces upward.

Incidentally, when the paper is fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20 using the second paper feeding means 22 as described above, and then the paper is fed to each storage bin 5, for example, the conveyor belt 13 or the deflecting means Even if the paper jams in step 7, a detection device (not shown) detects this and generates a jam signal.
In this case, the jam signal causes the rotation of the sending roller 27 and the driving of the conveyor belt 13 to be stopped, but the driving of the receiving roller pair 8, the feeding belt 11, and the intermediate roller 12 is not stopped. The first switching guide plate 23 is neither switched to the operating position nor the second switching guide plate 31 is switched to the non-operating position. Therefore, subsequent sheets continue to be fed into the auxiliary storage bin 20. Then, by restarting the rotation of the feed roller 27 and the driving of the conveyor belt 13 when the jam countermeasure is completed, the paper stored in the auxiliary storage bin 20 is fed to each storage bin 5 through the conveyor belt 13. I can do it. Thus, in this case as well, there is no need to stop the operation of the copying machine, and it is possible to prevent the paper from being fed into the storage bin 5 when a jam occurs.

According to the above configuration, there are cases in which the paper is normally fed to the storage bin 5 without passing through the auxiliary storage bin 20;
The operation mode of each element when a jam occurs is different between the case where the paper is once sent to the auxiliary storage bin 20 via the second paper feeding means 22 and then conveyed to each storage bin 5. On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows a specific example in which the operations of each element when a jam occurs in the two cases described above can be matched as much as possible.

In FIG. 3, outside the auxiliary storage bin 20,
A second auxiliary storage bin 200 is provided, the first auxiliary storage bin 20 is provided with a first paper feeding means 21 similar to the configuration shown in FIG. A second sheet feeding means 22 having the same structure as the one shown in FIG. Each of the auxiliary storage bins 20, 200 is provided with a sheet feeding means having the same structure as that shown in FIG.

Store the paper directly in the storage bin 5 without passing it through the auxiliary storage bin.
During normal operation, both the first and second switching guide plates 23, 31 occupy their inoperative position and perform the same operation as previously described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 a. will be held. In this case, even when a jam occurs, the operation is exactly the same as that described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2B. That is, the feed belt 11, the intermediate roller 12, and the conveyor belt 1.
3 stops, the first switching guide plate 23 rotates to its operating position, the paper is temporarily stored in the first auxiliary storage bin 20, and the paper is fed into each storage bin 5 after the jam countermeasure is completed. .

When it is desired to store the paper in the storage bin 5 in a re-inverted state, the second switching guide plate 31 is rotated to the operating position and the paper is temporarily stored in the second auxiliary storage bin 5, as in the previous operation example. 200 and then transported to each storage bin 5. However, if a jam occurs in this case, the feed roller 27 of the second auxiliary storage bin 200 will stop. Each element operates in the same way as when the event occurred. That is, when a jam occurs, the first switching guide plate 23 rotates to its operating position, and the feed belt 11, intermediate roller 12, and conveyance belt 13 stop. As a result, sheets fed into the collator after the occurrence of a jam are sent to the first auxiliary storage bin 20, and then fed to each storage bin 5 when countermeasures against jamming are completed. In this case, when the feeding of paper from the auxiliary storage bin is resumed after the anti-jam countermeasure is completed, it is necessary to feed the paper not only from the first auxiliary storage bin 20 but also from the second auxiliary storage bin 200. Each auxiliary storage bin 20, 20
It is desirable to send out the sheets from each auxiliary storage bin 20, 200 while controlling the sheets stored in the storage bins 20 and 200 so that the order of the sheets is not out of order. The other configurations in FIG. 3 are the same as in FIG. 1, so the same parts in FIG. 3 as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG. Omitted.

As described above, according to the collator shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, by providing the paper feeding means in the auxiliary storage bin, the paper stored in the auxiliary storage bin can be easily and accurately fed out from this bin. , which can be stored in a predetermined storage bin. Therefore, the auxiliary storage bin can be advantageously used when paper jams occur. In addition, the second feeding means is provided so that the paper can be reversed once before being sent to the auxiliary storage bin, so the auxiliary storage bin can be used not only when a jam occurs, but also to align the page order of the paper. It is. It is also advantageous to provide both the first sheet feeding means 21 and the second sheet feeding means 22 in the collator as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, so that the auxiliary storage bin can be used for various purposes. However, it is of course possible to attach only one of these feeding means 21, 22 to the auxiliary storage bin.

Further, the present invention is naturally applicable not only to copying machines but also to collators attached to printing machines and the like.

As described above, according to the present invention, the uses of the auxiliary storage bin can be expanded, and the operation when using the bin can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a collator according to the present invention,
Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the conveyance state of paper;
The figure is a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment different from that in FIG. 1. 3...Paper, 5...Storage bin, 6...Transporting means, 7...
Deflection means, 20, 200...Auxiliary storage bin, 21,
22...Paper feeding means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A conveyance means for conveying paper, a plurality of storage bins for storing the paper, a deflection means for guiding the paper sent by the conveyance means to the storage bin, and In the collator, the collator has an auxiliary storage bin that can temporarily store paper, and a paper feeding means for feeding the paper into the auxiliary storage bin, and a paper feeding means for feeding the paper from the auxiliary storage bin to the conveying means. The collator is characterized in that it is provided with: 2. The collator according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding means is configured to feed the paper into the auxiliary storage bin without inverting the paper. 3. The collator according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding means is configured to feed the paper into the auxiliary storage bin in an inverted state. 4. At least two paper feeding means are provided, the first paper feeding means feeding the paper into the auxiliary storage bin without inverting the paper,
2. A collator according to claim 1, wherein the second paper feeding means is configured to feed the paper into the auxiliary storage bin in an inverted state. 5. Claims in which at least two auxiliary storage bins are provided, the first auxiliary storage bin is provided with a first paper feeder, and the second auxiliary storage bin is provided with a second paper feeder. Collator as described in Section 4.